Indian athletes can be 'world beaters' within 10 years, says Sourav Ganguly

09/24/2016

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said that the Indian athletes cannot produce results by playing just one big tournament like the Olympics and called out for better facilities to be provided to them. Earlier, Ganguly also backed BCCI's decision to not play Pakistan in a bilateral series.

The 118-member Olympic contingent from India that travelled to Rio had returned with very little success as Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu were the only ones to come home with medals. But former cricketer Sourav Ganguly believes that the Indian athletes can bring laurels to the country if they are provided with enough support and infrastructure. Stressing the role of the BCCI in cricket's success in India, Ganguly said, "The reason why we have done well in cricket is because the BCCI has been able to give us great facilities. We have world class stadia all over India be it in a small centre like Ranchi.”

Ganguly also said the athletes should be given enough time to hone their skills in order to be successful on the biggest stage.

“One running event won't produce a champion overnight. You give them facilities and infrastructure, I can guarantee you they will become world beaters in 10 years time," said Ganguly, to PTI at an unveiling event as the face of the third Kolkata 25K run.

The President of the Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) also said that the Eden Gardens will be ready to host a special Test match when India play New Zealand in the second Test.

"The Eden is ready and we are doing our best to get crowds in large numbers. To begin with, the Eden will host a talk show of former cricketers VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and there are a host of other events lined up," he added.

Earlier, Ganguly told India Today that the BCCI's decision to not revive bilateral series ties with Pakistan was a correct one.

"Terrorism is an issue and you can't play cricket (with Pakistan) when people are getting killed at the borders," Ganguly told India Today.